Hypnota the Great was a stage magician who used a masculine costume and false facial hair to conceal her gender. Accidentally shot in the head during a rehearsal, she underwent emergency, experimental surgery. While it saved her life, it also released a 'blue electric ray of dominance' from her 'midbrain'. Hypnota now possessed the ability to mesmerize others with a glance.

Her new abilities were immediately put to use in both her stage act and for crime. She enslaved her weak willed sister Serva, as used her as a pawn and began to sell her mesmerized victims to slavers from Saturn. The latter was stopped by a ban on slave trading that was enacted as part of a peace treaty between Earth and Saturn. Undeterred, Hypnota took it upon herself to steal America's defense plans against Saturn and use them to breed hostility between the two planets. By sowing the seeds of mistrust, Hypnota sought to break the treaty so she could get back to her lucrative slave trading career. Wonder Woman managed to thwart Hypnota's plans, however, and Hypnota was imprisoned on Transformation Island.

Post-Crisis:

As in the Golden Age, Hypnota was one of the charter members of the original Villainy, Inc. However, she did not exhibit a masculine appearance, and instead went by the codename Hypnotic Woman. During an encounter with Wonder Woman, she revealed that she had telepathic abilities. It is unknown what had happened to Hypnotic Woman.